Gov't seeks to make public rice subsidy recipients

SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- Names of people who receive state subsidies for rice production will be made public on the Internet as part of government measures to mend holes in the system that allowed civil servants to illegally pocket the funds, the ruling party said Tuesday.

A massive corruption scam involving at least 2,000 government workers jolted the
country in October, forcing President Lee Myung-bak's first vice health minister
to step down and the parliament to launch an independent probe.
"The bills pushing for revision of the subsidy system will be submitted to the
parliament by next week at the latest," a party official said. "Some more
measures may be added in the final version."
The rice farming subsidy system was established in 2005 under the administration
of then President Roh Moo-hyun to support low-income farmers who would be hurt by
the opening of the Korean rice market to cheaper imports. Only those who actually
produce rice -- excluding those who simply own rice paddies -- are eligible for
the state subsidies.
The government and the ruling Grand National Party have agreed Tuesday to more
strictly screen subsidy applicants by mandating them to post on the Internet
their names, jobs, the amount of funds they receive, party officials said.
The provided information will stay on-line for 30 days so that people who have
objections to the applicants can report to the government. Those who falsify
their information to pocket the funds will not be able to apply for the money
again for five years.
The subsidy scandal first made headlines in October after then vice health
minister Lee Bong-hwa was found to have applied for the money by falsely claiming
she farmed rice. She was replaced soon after, making her the fourth Cabinet
member to step down since President Lee took office in February.
About 4 trillion won (US$3.1 billion) have been spent on the subsidy system since
it was established four years ago and at least 200 billion won is believed to
have leaked to unqualified recipients.
Among the 283,000 subsidy recipients, 170,000 have occupations other than farming
that includes court officials, prosecution staff and legislators, state data
says.
Observers say officials and legislators who own land likely applied for the
subsidies in order to evade heavy property taxes, rather than for the subsidies
themselves.
Under the country's tax law, individuals must farm the land for at least eight
years to receive tax deductions on their property. As the current system does not
require proof that applicants are actual farmers, non-farmers are able to abuse
the system.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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